Country Life

We don't live in the country, but it sometimes feels like we do. I keep telling the kids the rain is coming and they need to take advantage of these last few sunny days of autumn. Steve put up a rope swing and the kids have been enjoying that. There is nothing that compares to playing outside and I love that we finally have the chance to enjoy the outdoors on a daily basis.

Just Waking Up

I love when babies first wake up, especially my babies. They are still a little sleepy and wanting some cuddle time. This sweet little man is getting so grown up! He is climbing on everything, walking, running, screaming, wrestling, and loving life! He still has his blue eyes and is still getting up quite regularly in the middle of the night.
He loves to eat peanut butter on whole wheat bread! He is allergic to milk and so we have been rotating formula and rice milk. He still prefers the formula to the rice milk. He loves to play with cars and balls. He says mommy and daddy! He could say hi all day and is going through this phase of saying, "Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi......" you get the point! He says me and bye.

He prefers Daddy to Mommy. The minute Dad gets home he follows him around begging to be held, crying if Daddy puts him down, and pushing Mommy away if she tries to take him from Dad. He loves his big brother Jakob and is learning to play well with Isabelle. She has toughened him up and he enjoys her company MOST of the time. We just love him so much and are trying to enjoy these baby days since we know they will be gone all too quickly. Love you Karter man!

Sneak Peek

Here is a glimpse into Isabelle's room. I did a wall grouping in her room, just a bunch of stuff I had up in her old room that I decided to put together on one wall. The green walls look much greener in person!! Hopefully I'll get good pictures of the color when I take more photos of her room. We are still waiting on closet doors!! I will take some finished photos when it is completed.

My Helper

I bought a few of those white shelving units that you put together. The boys don't have room for a dresser in their room, but they had two closets across one wall. I'm putting a few of these units in the closets to hold shoes and clothes. Karter was wanting to help me put this together. He was actually putting the screwdriver where it needed to go and was very precise in his attempts.

Its That Time Again.

Andrew was making fun of me, saying that I always send them pictures of my kids. In my defense, I only take professional pictures of them three times their first year (they change so much!) and yearly on their birthdays after that.

This year I waited until Karter's birthday and took them all in together. Jakob and Isabelle did great!! I thought Karter would be fine, I took him in when he was 8 months and he just smiled for every picture! This time I sat him down, the male photographer started to do their thing, he just stared at them, looked at me, and started bawling!! Oh my!! I could not get him to stop unless I picked him up. We kept trying to sit him down and he just lost it each time. We tried to get all three of the kids together and this picture below was the best we could do. The only picture where Karter was semi-smiling is the one where he is sitting on my lap and they brought a women photographer in to try and work with him. Wow! Quite a chore, but I love the photos. I take a lot of pictures of my kids, but there is just something about getting professional pictures. Lots of work, but I love the end result.

Girlie Fun

I love that Isabelle is a girlie girl. She loves all those girlie things and loves to do them with Mom!! The other day we painted her fingernails for the first time. So much fun!! The hardest part was trying to keep this active girl still long enough to let the paint dry.

I let her pick the nail polish color. I was sure she would pick pink, she wanted green, but she decided on fire engine red.

Ofcourse, we had to paint her toenails.

And I had to get in on some of this girlie time, so my toenails are now fire engine red!

First Day of First Grade

Dear Jakob,

I can't believe that you started 1st grade today!! Such a big step in your life! You have been talking a lot about school these last couple months, nervous to be going to a new school where you don't know anyone. I was so proud of you this morning! You walked into your classroom, found your seat, and said goodbye. I could tell how nervous you were, but you were so brave.

Last night your dad gave you a blessing promising you that you would find good friends and learn many good things. When you went to bed last night you told your dad that you were a little excited for school to start, that Heavenly Father helped you to get excited.

I just can't believe that you have grown up so fast! You do so many things on your own and are so self sufficient. You are thinking a lot and coming up with some big questions. The other day you asked me if numbers go on forever. You also are thinking about your future, debating what you want to be when you grow up and talking about who you want to marry. So many things to think about.

Goodbye my boy!! Have a great year, make lots of good friends, learn many wonderful things, work hard!! Know that we love you no matter what! Always keep your compassion, your thoughtful nature, your attention to detail, your joy for the simple things in life. I love you my big first grade boy!! Make this year the best yet!

Love, love, love you!

Mom